Just to Dance
by Caffinated Fantasy
Summary: All Tea ever wanted to be was a professional dancer. But when her dreams are crushed by the Domino Ballet Company, her goes into a downward spiral of anorexia deepeing into the even more deadly Bulimia. The story has exerts form Tea's in journal as well a
1. Default Chapter

Just to Dance

" You guys!!!!! Look what's in the paper today!!!!!!!!" Tea shrieked as she ran to her and her friends' usual lunch table. Joey scanned the entire front page.

" I dun see anyting speial…" He said with his mouth full of pizza.

" Dumb ass, It's right there!" Tristan shouted pointing to the bold print and clunking Joey on the head with his Chemistry textbook. There in huge letters said, " Domino Ballet Company Open And Ready For Dancers!!!!"

"This is what I've been dreaming about my entire life, you guys!!!" Tea shouted, eyes sparkling. " I just can't wait to join!!! I wonder if they'd ever put on Giselle? I love Giselle!!!!! "

" Hold it! This does sound cool, but I didn't know you were interested in ballet! I thought you were more into hip-hop!" Yugi said with a puzzled look.

" What did you think I was doing after school from 4th to 9th grade??!! Academic Quiz Bowl???" Tea said, looking a bit perturbed.

" Hey! Don't hate on Quiz Bowl!!! That was my life back in elementary school!!" Tristan said, taking another bite of his Philly cheese-steak. " I think you should sign up, Tea! You'd be a shoe-in!!" Joey said.

"Thank you, Joey!!! It's nice to know somebody supports my dream!" Tea said . " You know we're behind you all the way! " Yugi said. " Just don't kill yourself if you don't get in!" jokingly.

"Don't worry about that!! I think I can handle myself a little better than that!!" Tea said with a giggle.

Two weeks later

(The Audition)

Tea took a deep breath as she walked into the Ballet Company's lobby. There must have been at least 30 other girls there, eager for their turn to come. All Tea felt was a huge knot in her stomach. _" It's okay… You can do this… This is your dream!!!!" _ Tea thought as she walked into the ladies bathroom to change into her pink and purple leotard.

As she walked out, a short woman with a slight Russian accent gave her a card with the number 458 on it. " This is your audition numbah dahling, they vill call you vhen they are ready.." She said. " Umm Thanks…" Tea said as she smiled nervously.

After about 45 minutes her number was finally called. As she walked into the large gymnasium, she felt a chill surround her. The knot in her stomach seemed to tighten as she walked to the center of the room. Thank you for coming , Ms……" A bald man in a gray suit said.

" Uhhh.. Tea Gardener, sir…" She said softly. " Okay, Ms. Gardener.. Show us what you can do." As a tall woman beside him turned on the boom box next to her, Tea thrust herself in j'etes and grande' plies, spinning gracefully around the room and, luckily, in time with the music. One stumble in the first jump, but it was her only mistake. 4 minutes later, it was all done. " Very good, very good… just fill out the forms before you leave today and will send you you're results…"

"Thank you!!" Tea said as she ran out the door smiling ear to ear. Hs picked up the forms she needed and bounded to the nearest chair. " Let's see her… Name: Tea Michelle Gardener. Birthday: March 23, 1987. Height: 5' 6". Weight: 15.… WHY THE HECK DO THEY THINK THEY NEED TO KNOW THAT??!!!!!!" She shouted at the paper. The other girls became dead silent, but then started whisper and giggling immediately after.

Blushing crimson red, she quietly wrote " weight:157 lbs."

One Week Later

(Tea's House)

" And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, it's the moment you've all been waiting for!!!!!!" Joey shouted dramatically as Yugi and Tristan started drumming on Tea's Mom's coffee. "The envelope, please?!!" He said as he pointed to Tea.

" Give me a break…" Tea muttered as she opened the pale white envelope. She had talked about this moment non-stop. Dreaming about it, thinking about it, practically eating about it, and here it was, right in front of her. In her hands… " Here we go…"

Tea ripped into the envelope and grabbed the letter. Suddenly, her face froze and she dropped the letter with a limp hand.

"I didn't make it…"


	2. Chapter 2

Just to Dance

Chapter 2

There she sat on her bed, staring at the letter, tears streaming down her cheeks. That one sentence felt like a stab to the heart every time she read.

__

" We are sorry to in form you that even though your talent was acceptable, your weight exceeds our limit by 12 pounds."

Yugi and the others had tried to console her hours ago, but she was still locked in her bedroom.

" I'm too fat…?" Tea thought to herself as she finally put the letter back into it's envelope. She put it on the nightstand beside her and stared down at the small pooch that was her stomach.

Her mind was instantly flooded with images of her and her friends consuming pizza and Doritos just a week earlier, and the cupcake she had for her breakfast.

" Ugh… I need to think about something else…" She said as she flipped on her small television. She flipped it to "Friends" , her favorite show. That made her feel a little better.

__

" But you can't leave Ross!!! He's your lobster!!!!" Phoebe shouted at Rachael from across the room.

" What??!!!" Rachael shouted back.

" You know!! How lobsters always stay together for life! That's why you see old lobster couples walking in the tank , holding claws!"

That was one of Tea's favorite lines, but she hadn't paid attention to a single word. She couldn't help but stare at Lisa Kudrow's lean frame.

She turned to the next channel. Law& Order was on the air.

__

" Jack, if we go through with this, who knows what the consequences could be!"

" For one second could you stop thinking like a defense attorney and more like an Assistant District Attorney?!"

The tall woman in the suit sickened her stomach also. " She probably weighs 85 pounds…" She said as she flipped the channel once again. None of this was helping her at all.

" So Bob, tell us about this new diet!" Another blonde, bone-thin woman said brightly.

Tea was on the verge of pressing the channel button when the tall man beside her said:

" The Atkins diet has worked wonders for some many people, Margaret, you wouldn't believe! The most common explanations were that in just three months, they lost over twenty pounds!!!"

" That's incredible! But what do the viewers at home have to do?" Margaret asked with a very cheesy look on her face.

" It's actually very simple! Just take out almost all of the carbs in your diet and eat all the protein and veggies you want! You don't even have to exercise! I don't think I've heard a better deal!" Bob said.

That one commercial filled Tea's heart with so much hope, she nearly exploded!

" This is it! Watch out Domino Ballet! I will be back! And better than ever!!!!"


End file.
